Evolution of Modern Human Dental Ontogeny Revisited - Macho - 1995

Modern humans are characterised by an extended growth period, and this delay in maturation is also reflected in their delayed eruption of permanent teeth. This, as well as the fact that teeth and jaws are abundant in the fossil record, has led many researchers to study hominid dental remains in order to elucidate the evolution of modern human ontogeny. Advances in the methods which allow the processes of tooth formation to be related to absolute time, together with conclusions of recent studies of dental growth in apes, now provide a better understanding of the unique features of modern human dental development. Differences in tooth formation times alone cannot account for the delayed eruption of modern human teeth. Instead, within the hominid clade the nature of the links between tooth eruption, facial growth, dental function and life history seems to be more complex than previously thought, whereby the extended ontogeny cannot be described by a simple heterochronic event.

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